LGBT News

Today marks the nineteenth blogiversary of this here website thingy. Counting this one, we’re at 138,342 posts over 19 years, the last 15 of which have been without a full day off, although posting on weekends is usually at a slower rate. As I’ve said on this day every year, whether I am insanely committed or am insane and should …

The Associated Press reports: Montana became the latest state to ban or restrict gender-affirming medical care for transgender kids Friday when its Republican governor signed legislation that exiled transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr told fellow lawmakers would leave “blood” on their hands. Montana is one of at least 15 states with laws to ban such care despite protests from the families …

NBC News reports: A recent comment by a Montana Republican state lawmaker who sponsored legislation to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors has gone viral and drawn backlash online. State Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, R-Billings, suggested during a floor debate that she would rather risk her daughter dying by suicide than allow her to transition. Seekins-Crowe did not say that …

ABC News reports: A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows over one out of every four high school students in the United States identifies as LGBTQ. Using data it collected in 2021, the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) found that 74.2% of American high school students identified as heterosexual. The CDC surveyed …

The Montana Free Press reports: David, 32, sat down in the governor’s office on March 27 with a prepared statement about legislation affecting transgender Montanans and the LGBTQ+ community generally, to which David says he belongs. He wanted to talk about Senate Bill 99, a ban on gender-affirming health care for minors; Senate Bill 458, a bill to define sex …

The Texas Tribune reports: Transgender Texans of all ages could have their access to transition-related medical treatments severely limited — or effectively ended — under a bill the Texas Senate formally approved Wednesday. Senate Bill 1029 would make physicians and health insurers financially liable for their patients’ lifetime medical, mental health and pharmaceutical costs resulting from complications of gender-affirming medical …

The Washington Post reports: Former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade moved his family out of Florida because of the state’s increasing hostility to LGBTQ people — including Wade’s daughter, Zaya. That revelation emerged in an interview Wade gave reporter Rachel Nichols for her Showtime program Headliners. “I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions,” Wade …

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports: Kansas lawmakers enacted Thursday a sweeping anti-transgender rights bill that could require transgender individuals to use public facilities in almost every facet of society that align with their sex assigned at birth, raising the likelihood of lawsuits and questions about how the measure will be enforced. Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed Senate Bill 180 earlier this month, …

The Associated Press reports: As several conservative states adopt legislation that prohibits school employees from teaching or discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom, Louisiana advanced its own “Don’t Say Gay” bill Wednesday. The anti-LGBTQ+ measure was narrowly approved by a Republican-controlled House committee and heads to the full House, where an emotionally charged debate over the culture …

The Tennessean reports: The Department of Justice on Wednesday intervened in a federal lawsuit against Tennessee over the state’s controversial ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, asking the court to halt the law’s implementation before it takes effect on July 1. In March, Gov. Bill Lee [photo] signed into law SB 1/HB 1, which bans gender-affirming care for minors. …

PBS NewsHour reports: Transgender kids and adults in North Dakota won’t be able to access bathrooms, locker rooms or showers that match the gender they identify with in places like college dorms or jails, under a new law signed by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum. The American Civil Liberties Union has said that so far this year, more than 450 bills …

NPR reports: Republicans, who dominate the Montana House of Representatives, have voted Wednesday to formally punish Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr. Zephyr, who is transgender, has been blocked from speaking since last Tuesday when she told supporters of a bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors that she hoped they would see “blood on [their] hands.” There, she was alluding to …

The New York Times reports: Legislators in Montana are expected to vote Wednesday on whether to censure or discipline the state’s only transgender lawmaker, after an escalating standoff over her ability to speak in the House of Representatives led to heated protests and arrests on Monday and the abrupt cancellation of Tuesday’s session. The lawmaker, Representative Zooey Zephyr, shared a …

ABC News reports: Hundreds of drag performers and allies rallied in Florida Tuesday afternoon against recent legislation that organizers say is attacking the LGBTQ community. The rally drew advocates from across the state to Tallahassee for a march to the state Capitol, where speakers included state Sen. Shevrin Jones. “First of all, I want to acknowledge your existence,” Jones said …

CBS News reports: A battle is brewing in the town of North Brookfield over a Pride event and whether a drag show should be allowed as part of the celebration on the town common June 24. In a 2 to 1 vote last week, the Board of Selectmen reversed itself from a vote in March, saying the Pride celebration could …

The Texas Tribune reports: Most West Texas A&M faculty have lost confidence in university President Walter Wendler, according to the results of a campuswide vote that came weeks after he canceled a charity campus drag show. Faculty senate leaders announced the results of the weeklong no-confidence vote Tuesday evening. According to faculty senate president Ashley Pinkham, there were 179 votes …

The Independent reports: Kevin Bacon has gone viral with a video he made in protest of the drag bans. On Sunday, he posted a video of him and his wife, the actor Kyra Sedgwick, dancing to Taylor Swift’s song “Karma” and wearing t-shirts with the slogan “Drag is an art and drag is a right”. In the caption to the …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Anheuser-Busch InBev said it had placed on leave two executives who oversaw a Bud Light collaboration with a transgender activist. Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light’s vice president of marketing, had come under fire from some customers and media outlets over the company’s decision to send a personalized Bud Light can to transgender activist and influencer Dylan …

The Los Angeles Times reports: It was bad b— o’clock Friday night in Tennessee when Lizzo protested the state’s anti-drag-show legislation by inviting more than a dozen drag queens to participate in her concert there. During her Knoxville show at Thompson-Boling Arena, the “Special” artist danced onstage with a number of drag queens dressed in colorful, glittery costumes. Among the …

Bloomberg News reports: Hungary’s president rejected a bill that would enable citizens to report anonymously same-sex families to authorities, a rare rebuke from an otherwise loyal ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The draft law approved by parliament earlier this month would allow people to report those who contest the “constitutionally recognized role of marriage and the family” and those …